GOP Arizona Gov. Brewer: Both Parties Are to Blame for Shutdown

Gov. Jan Brewer said a delay of Obamacare’s individual mandate isn’t worth a federal government shutdown.

October 2, 2013

Gov. Jan Brewer said a delay of Obamacare’s individual mandate isn’t worth a federal government shutdown.

Brewer has long opposed the Affordable Care Act, including a critical provision that requires all Americans to get health care coverage or pay a fine, and even joined a multistate lawsuit against the president’s signature health care law. But she said Obamacare is here to stay, and Brewer opposed GOP efforts to delay its implementation in 2014.

“That’s not going to happen. I don’t believe that’s going to happen. I think that it’s pretty much carved in stone, the direction of where Obama health care is going. And I believe they need to get us a budget or a continuing resolution, and we need to get America, the United States back on track,” Brewer told reporters on Tuesday, when asked whether the shutdown would be worth it if it led to a delay in the individual mandate.

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Despite her opposition to the Affordable Care Act, Brewer, a Republican, did not lay the blame for the shutdown solely at the feet of congressional Democrats or Obama, a frequent nemesis since they both took office in 2009, nor did she blame congressional Republicans for their refusal to continue funding the government unless the mandate is delayed for one year.